Caught Up in the Moment
by MoonWarriors
Summary: It's hard to say the exact moment I lost myself. But when I lost myself doesn't matter; it's when I finally found myself that did. And the four people that, despite everything, helped me find my way. Pre-fame.
1. Chapter 1

**I just want to try to get back into writing :) I hope you enjoy!**

It's hard to say the exact moment I lost myself. It could have been when I lost my mother, or when my heartbroken father abandoned me. It could have been at the start of junior year, when I realized all that mattered was getting out of Minnesota. But looking back, when I lost myself wasn't what mattered. It was when I finally found myself that did. And the four people that, despite everything, helped me find my way.

**Chapter 1**

My aunt, Marissa, was already on her way to work as a lawyer when I woke up for school. Marissa also ran a small orphanage/foster home and every other day, she stayed home to watch the kids. On the days she worked at her firm, her best friend, Eve, worked at home. Knowing Eve would be at the house shortly, I quickly made blueberry pancakes for the five other kids. Skipping breakfast myself, I changed into black leggings, a white long-sleeved shirt, tan cardigan, and black boots. Studying my clear blue eyes in the mirror, I braided back my long dark brown hair and left for school.

When I arrived on campus, I watched as friends greeted each other with open arms. Boyfriends greeted their girlfriends with warm smiles and sweet kisses. I sighed and walked on, knowing I would get no such greeting.

Standing next to the entrance of my first period class, surrounded by girls, were the four most popular boys in school. I didn't know their names-I didn't have friends to gossip and fangirl with or any classes with the boys-but I knew about them. They were best friends, made varsity hockey as freshmen, and had a reputation as the four hottest juniors. The crowd laughed at a joke that was made and one tall brunette caught my eye, just as he did every other day. His hair was perfect, his hazel eyes sparkled, and his perfect-toothed grin was captivating. Still smiling, he glanced at me and for a split second, our eyes met. I quickly looked down at my feet and walked into my classroom before anyone could see the blush creep up to my cheeks.

The rest of school passed by quickly. A few people said "hi" as they passed me in the halls, but no one stuck around to start up a conversation. No one ever did. After school, I sat in my usual spot at the edge of the stands and, along with others, watched the last few minutes of the varsity hockey team's last practice before the big game against our rival school. The practice ended and I left to sit on the bleachers overlooking the swim team's practice lake outside. I looked out on the glistening surface, reminiscing in the days where I would sit on the couch watching Minnesota Wild games with my dad before he abandoned me. The precious memories were cut short as I was pushed off my seat and onto the cold snow.

I quickly stood up, brushed myself off, and turned to face whoever shoved me off. I wasn't surprise to find the two girls whom I came to know as the "Popsicles." Tall, blonde, gorgeous twins, Victoria and Veronica were the two most popular juniors on campus with the coldest personalities. And, unfortunately, I happened to be their favorite target.

"Oops, sorry," Victoria purred. "I didn't see you there."

"It was like you were totally invisible," Veronica added. They each took a step towards me as I took one back.

"Where are you friends?" Victoria asked, advancing towards me.

"Oh, that's right," Veronica mocked. "You don't have any."

"Do us all a favor, dear," Victoria started.

"And drop off the planet, will you?" Veronica finished.

I soon learned why the swim team didn't practice there that night. What happened next happened all too fast. Not noticing how close I was to the edge of the water, I took another step back, weight in my heels. Half of my foot was still on the snow and I tried to throw my weight forward to keep from falling in.

I vaguely heard the Popsicles scream as I slipped into the inhumanely cold water. I let out a small shriek as I fell in, succeeding only in cracking my head against the ice-covered concrete. The watery world around me slowly got darker; my lungs screamed for air and as I slowly sank, I knew it was the end.

I still have trouble believing what happened next. Two arms wrapped around my torso and brought me back up. Once I was safe on land, I gasped in as much air as possible, while coughing out water. Barely conscious, I vaguely felt the weight of my jacket off and my shirt being peeled off.

"No, no," I muttered, trying to save myself the embarrassment of being in just my bra. But my attempts to push their hands away from me became futile. The world around me blurred and the words these people were telling me faded. Quickly, the cold and dark consumed me and I blacked out.

******Review please :) I'll update as often as possible! ******


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

I awoke shivering, unaware of where I was. My head pounded and stung in protest as I put my hand to my forehead. Carefully, I touched my fingertips once again to the right side of my forehead, hissing slightly against the sharp pain.

"Great," I muttered as I noticed blood on my fingertips and fell back against the soft pillows on the unfamiliar bed I lay on. The door to my right flew open, filling the previously dark room with bright light. I squeezed my eyes shut in protest to the harsh light, covering my eyes quickly with my hands.

"She's awake!"

"Where am I?" I asked, forcing my eyes open. As if the day couldn't have gotten any weirder, who else stood at the edge of the bed but four extremely attractive boys-the most popular in school.

"How are you?" the boy with spiky dark hair asked me as he sat at the foot of my bed.

"Fine," I answered quietly, hugging my knees close to my chest as I shivered.

"Still cold?" he asked. I hesitated but slowly nodded. "Carlos, get her another blanket."

"On it," the Latino boy wearing a helmet saluted eagerly.

"What's your name?" the tall brunette who had caught my eye so many times in the halls asked me. Part of me was disappointed that he didn't know who I was; that lack of knowledge crushed all my ridiculous teenage girl fantasies that he secretly admired me from afar, or that I would ever end up in a fairy tale love story with a pretty boy-_this_ pretty boy. But before I let myself get too disappointed, I remembered a valuable piece of information that I lacked.

"What's _your_ name?" I countered.

He seemed taken aback. "Y-you don't know who I am?" I shook my head. He shrieked and clutched his hand to his chest.

"I'm Kendall," the blonde laughed. "The guy with the helmet is Carlos; Mr. Doctor is Logan. And the guy with the damaged ego over there is James."

"I'm London," I told them quietly.

"Nice to meet you, London," Kendall smiled.

"Where am I?" I asked, rubbing my goose bump covered arms.

"My house," he answered. "We saw you fall in the lake so James jumped in and pulled you out." James gave me a dazzling smile. "We didn't know your name and we found your phone on the bench, but it was locked, so we couldn't call anyone. So we just brought you here." I sat there, absorbing everything he told me. Why save me? Why go through all the trouble to save me?

I shivered again and hugged my knees even closer to my chest.

"Body heat will help warm you up," Logan told me gently. "James?"

"Got you covered," he smiled his perfect-toothed grin as he jumped in the bed next to me, wrapping his arms around my shoulders. It would have been every girls' dream to have the most gorgeous boy in school offering to cuddle up with them and his touch brought me the warmth that I craved, but I pushed him away asking, "What?"

"It's ok," he told me softly. "I pulled you out of the lake; you can trust me. I don't bite. Just let me help keep you warm." I hesitated, but watched silently as James wiggled underneath the covers and wrapping his arms around me, pulling me into him. His warmth was much needed and inviting, so I snuggled in closer to his chest.

"Thank you," I whispered. James responded by gently rubbing his warm hands against my cold arms and kept me pulled into him. To my surprise, I quickly fell asleep once again.

When I awoke this time, I was still snuggled into James.

"Morning," he smiled.

"Sorry," I muttered, quickly pulling away and sitting up. I got up out of the bed to find I had been changed into an oversized pair of sweats that weren't mine. My guess: Kendall's mom.

"The guys are waiting out in the living room," James said. "Come on." He motioned for me to follow and led me out. The three other boys sat on the couches with an older woman with red hair and a soft smile.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, handing me a cup of hot chocolate.

"Much better, thank you," I answered, graciously accepting the steaming cup.

"I'm Kendall's mom," she said.

"I'm London. How long have I been here?"

"Just about a day. Should we call your parents?"

I paused for a second. Marissa and Eve were busy. They didn't need to worry about me. "Um, no. My aunt is working," I answered quickly.

"Well, you're welcome to stay here until she gets home," she smiled.

"Thank you." With a small nod, she left the room, leaving me with the boys.

"So, London," Logan started. "I've seen you around school. You're a junior, right?" I nodded.

"You don't talk much," Carlos observed, frowning slightly.

"Sorry," I muttered. "_I'm not used to people wanting to talk to me,"_ I thought.

"I think we're going to be best friends," he answered with a cheeky grin. I was taken aback, but gave him a small smile in response as I took a sip of my hot chocolate.

A few hours passed as I watched the four best friends goof around, occasionally joining in with their laughter.

Suddenly, the thought occurred to me that I needed to get home and help Eve with the kids. Being the oldest, Marissa and Eve allowed me to do whatever I wanted; it never worried them. I didn't have friends to make stupid decisions with, so whenever I got home from school, I just helped them with the kids.

"I should get home," I said.

"We'll give you a ride," James offered.

"No, it's fine; I can walk," I declined.

"No, I'm giving you a ride," James stated, grabbing his keys.

"Really, it's-" I cut myself off as James was already heading out the door. "Alright then."

Once we arrived at my house, I thanked James and quickly got out of the car.

"We'll see you at school on Monday, right?" Carlos asked from the backseat.

"Sure," I responded, knowing they would forget all about me by the time Monday came.

"Bye, London!" Logan and Kendall exclaimed.

"Bye," I waved, running up the steps. I walked into the house, loudly letting out a sigh. As the five little kids ran to me, greeting me with tight hugs, my mind was somewhere else. I wondered what it was that drove them to be so nice to me. Having friends, or at least the idea of it, was nice while it lasted.

Too bad it wouldn't.

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	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Monday morning rolled around. Marissa and Eve hadn't learned of the lake accident, and I intended to keep it that way. When they noticed the gash across the top right of my head, I simply told them I had accidentally walked into a wall. Being a klutz, they didn't question me.

I wore a white peacoat, jeans, and black boots to school that day, with my hair pulled into a side braid.

"Good morning, Alexi!" Marissa exclaimed, setting down plates of blueberry pancakes, calling me by her nickname for my middle name, Alexandria.

"Morning, Marissa," I answered, sitting at the table.

"Don't eat all the pancakes now," she smiled. "I'm going to wake up the kids so they can say good-bye to you before you head out."

"No promises," I laughed, knowing fully well that I would never eat that many pancakes. A few minutes later, after finishing my pancake and being about to head out the door for school, small footsteps were the only noise I heard.

"Alexi!" a chorus of voices exclaimed. They all called me by my aunt's nickname for me as well.

I planted a kiss on each of their heads as I greeted them.

"Good morning, Mikey," I said to the blonde haired, blue eyed 5 year old.

"Good morning, Charlotte," I said to the chestnut haired, brown eyed 4 ½ year old.

"Good morning, Benny," I said to the dark brown haired, brown eyed 5 year old.

"Good morning, Cassie," I said to the platinum blonde, blue eyed 3 year old.

"Good morning, Chris," I finally said to the red haired, green eyed 4 year old.

They all happily ate their pancakes as I went to say good-bye to my aunt.

"Have a good day at school, dear," she said as she saw me to the door. "Kids, say good-bye to Alexi!"

A chorus of muffled "good-bye"s rang out as I closed the door behind me. As I walked, I wondered if the boys would actually keep their word and find me at school. Little scenes ran through my head as I imagined them becoming my friends. But I quickly shook the images from my mind. Kendall, James, Carlos, and Logan were the hottest and most popular boys at school. And me? I was a loner. A loser. An orphan. They would never want anything to do with me.

I arrived at school, once again receiving no happy greeting. The little hope I had was quickly diminishing as I walked alone to class.

Victoria and Veronica, in all their wicked glory, were standing outside my classroom. When they saw me, they quickly began whispering to each other, clearly wondering how I had survived. They advanced towards me.

"_Crap_," I thought, trying to mentally prepare myself for whatever harsh words they had in store for me.

"London!" a voice sounded from behind me.

"Carlos..?" I asked slowly, turning to see the happy teen bounding down the halls, followed by Kendall, Logan, and James.

"Found you!" Kendall exclaimed.

"Um, yeah," I said, a small smile tugging at my lips. They actually remembered me! I glanced quickly at Victoria and Veronica, who were looking at the boys and me with jaws dropped. I had to admit, it gave me a bit of satisfaction.

"Is this your class?" Logan asked, pointing to my AP Physics classroom.

"Ye-no!" I covered quickly. They wouldn't want to hang around some freaky brainiac, would they?

Logan raised an eyebrow.

"Yes," I sighed, looking down at my feet. That was it. I just blew my only chance at ever having friends.

"Beauty and brains!" James smirked. A blush crept up to my cheeks. Beauty? What?

"I have this class too! Next period, though," Logan exclaimed. "We should study together sometime."

"I'd like that," I answered, looking back up.

The bell rang then, and the boys were immediately panicked.

"If I'm late again, Mr. Jones will kill me!" Carlos yelped. "See you later!" He ran off, followed by his three frantic friends.

"Wait, London!" Kendall ran back towards me. I turned to him.

"The guys and I are hanging out at my house tonight. You should come."

"Oh, I don't know—"

He interrupted me. "Sounds great. I'll give you the details later."

I sighed, tucking a strand of stray hair behind my ear.

Kendall found me at lunch and practically dragged me over to his table.

"I don't know if I can go tonight," I said quietly. Marissa would need help with the kids! But really, I just didn't want them to get to know me. They wouldn't like me if they found out my own parents didn't want me.

"You're coming," they stated in unison.

"But—"

"Do you just not want to be friends?" Carlos asked quietly. They all looked at me, hurt expressions on their faces. My heart shattered.

"No, no, no, it's not that at all!" I exclaimed quickly. "It's just that you guys have been so nice to me lately. I don't want to intrude."

"You aren't intruding!" Kendall laughed. "You're our friend!"

His words echoed in my mind. "You're our friend." I felt giddy inside; I had friends.

"So what time tonight?" I asked.

"5 ok?" Kendall asked.

"Sounds like a plan."

As per Carlos's decision, we watched Rise of the Guardians. I sat down on the loveseat and James sat down next to me. Kendall, Carlos, and Logan took up the bigger couch.

James sat so close. His body was brushing against mine. His arm was draped over the couch around me. His scent was intoxicating. He adjusted himself and ended up closer to me than he was before. At one point in the movie, we looked at each other and shared a quick smile. My heart skipped a beat. I could easily see how James was the ladies' man of our school, every girl's love. If I wasn't careful, I would fall hard.

Three weeks passed and I spent nearly every day with the boys that I could proudly call my friends.

One Friday at school, we decided we would head to see the new Superman movie. I raced home, excited to try something new with my look.

I finally decided to try out the makeup that Marissa had bought me. It wasn't easy. My eyes blinked furiously in protest to the black eyeliner, but once I managed to line the top and bottom, I was proud. I put mascara on my long lashes and swiped on lip-gloss. Wearing my white pea coat and black leggings with my hair down and straight, I felt good about how I looked for the first time in a long time.

I was excited to go to the movies with the boys. Though I'd never admit it out loud, I was hoping for more of the harmless flirting between James and myself. I had developed a serious crush on the pretty boy and it actually seemed like he could be into me. And I was ecstatic.

Marissa, who was excited about my new friends, offered to give me a ride to the movies so I could meet the boys there.

"Have fun and be safe!" she called after me. I turned around and gave her a thumbs up.

"Oh my goodness," Kendall said slowly as I approached the boys.

"What?" I asked, suddenly worried that I had tried too hard. I looked stupid. I wanted to go hide in a corner.

"You look amazing," Logan exclaimed.

A felt another blush creep up to my cheeks as I shyly answered, "Thanks."

"Where's James?" Carlos asked.

"He'll be here soon. He said he had to go pick up this new girl he was seeing so she could meet us," Kendall answered casually, clearly not caring.

My heart fell to my stomach. New girl? James had a girlfriend?

"There they are!" Logan pointed. James arrived with his arm around a girl's waist. But when I saw who the girl was, I nearly lost it.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me," I hissed under my breath.


End file.
